We refer to Mr Ang Ah Lay’s letter, “Good move marred by hasty execution” on November 16.

LTA’s decision to ban e-scooters on footpaths was a difficult one. Our priority was to restore footpath safety as soon as possible to the millions of pedestrians who use footpaths daily. Over the past two years, LTA had engaged e-scooter users extensively through education like the Safe Riding Programme and other measures like lowering speed limits on footpaths. However, accidents involving pedestrians and e-scooter users, including non-food delivery users, continued to happen, including the fatal accident on September 21 which took the life of an elderly cyclist. Hence, it was important for the ban to kick in as soon as possible as another fatality will be one too many. In Parliament on October 7, the Ministry of Transport had also said it was conducting a review on where to allow e-scooters and that a total ban might be possible if user behaviour did not improve.

Prior to the November 4 announcement, LTA had been engaging food delivery companies and was therefore able to announce the Transition Assistance Package (TAP) comprising the e-scooter Trade-in Grant (eTG) that is co-funded by the companies, support for job placements, and short-term financial assistance within the week. We thank our partners, including food delivery companies, Workforce Singapore, NTUC's e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), and the Ministry of Social and Family Development, in making this comprehensive package of support measures available for affected food delivery riders.

While the footpath ban came into effect on November 5, LTA built in an advisory period until December 31 for e-scooter users to find alternative modes of mobility. During this period, LTA will only enforce against egregious riders such as those who ride recklessly and exceed speed limits. While there has been lobbying by various stakeholders for the ban to be lifted, including to Members of Parliament at their Meet-the-People Sessions, LTA will continue to work hard on the ground, engaging and educating users on the new rules.


Kenneth Wong
Deputy Group Director, Active Mobility
Land Transport Authority